


Lost and Found

by Riki_W_Grayson



Category: DC - Fandom
Genre: Circus Life/Life on the Road, Does not Follow DC Comic Timeline, Foreign Countries, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Set Before Dick Becomes Robin, Slow Burn, Trigger Warnings, Young Dick Grayson, Young Original Male Character, becoming friends, future relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-04-23 03:28:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14323575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riki_W_Grayson/pseuds/Riki_W_Grayson
Summary: Dick Grayson must overcome past trauma in order to live with a roommate orphan boy taken in to work with Haley's Circus. This work is about Dick healing and discovering himself, while learning to share his life with someone else.





	1. Chapter 3

June 8, 2002: Romania

In the end it did no good for Mary to be agitated. Dick had found Luca sitting in a tree a ways from their shared train car, reading a book and eating an apple. It annoyed him that he was not helping the others set up. Why should everyone else be working so hard only for this slacker to be sitting around eating and doing something unrelated to work?

"Luca! What are you doing? We've been looking for you," Dick said, a note of frustration in his voice. Luca jumped and looked up from his book at the sound of his name.

"Hey Dick, just reading a book-"

"Don't you know there is work to be done?" Dick's patience was running a little thin, a personality trait that he was already lacking in his nine-year old-self. 

"Oh, sorry. I couldn't find anyone that would tell me what to do so I just decided to stay out of the way until they were finished," Luca answered lamely.

"Didn't you see us in the mess tent when you went to get the apple?."

"Well, yeah, but," Luca shrugged, closing his book, "I didn't wanna bother you guys." He jumped down from the tree, landing solidly.

All Dick could manage in response was, "Oh," and he stared down at his feet, feeling ashamed that he had been so annoyed only seconds before.

"So, do we need to go help somebody or... ?"

Dick looked up at Luca, straight into his chocolate browns eyes, and lost his train of thought. It was like the words he wanted to say had just vanished, on the tip of his tongue one moment, gone the next. He couldn't believe that he had never noticed those eyes before. Although his family had blue eyes, there were so many others in the show that had brown eyes - yet none of them were like Luca's.  
There was something unusual, something electric in those eyes, but Dick was too young to understand what. He blushed, not able to comprehend why.

"Are you okay Dick?" Luca said.

As he spoke the words, he blinked. That solitary movement caused Dick to snap out of whatever state his mind was in and he took a few awkward steps backwards. "Yeah, I'm okay. We can go see if they need help," Dick said, and turned around so he couldn't see Luca looking at him. Then he began walking towards their train car, climbing over the coupler that attacked their car to the next, careful to avoid the grease. As somewhat of an afterthought, he turned around and told Luca where to place his hands and feet to avoid getting the thick, black, tar-like substance all over him.

"Thanks," Luca smiled in appreciation.

Dick didn't answer, he was too preoccupied in thinking about the fact that it was his fault Luca hadn't sat with them at breakfast. He had scared him so badly that the boy didn't even want to sit with him at meal time. Great. The one chance he had had of making a friend his own age was slipping away because he had been so grumpy the past few weeks that he hadn't bothered to think about what might happen if he was nice to people. Dick supposed, begrudgingly in the privacy of his own mind, that, he would have to start being nice to the newbie... and would have to stop referring to Luca as "the newbie". 

He looked out over the large field that had been designated for use by the circus. Already since he had finished breakfast several more tents were standing, not including the big top, but the gold tent that contained all of the show's thousands of costume and make up pieces stood out from the surroundings. The sun had risen about an hour earlier, and the grounds were now bathed in the soft rays of morning, casting the tents in a warm glow. It was possible to get lost in the maze of tents, especially as a child. Dick could remember getting lost many times before he was even five years old. But, in a show full of people that new each other, someone had always been there to bring him back to his parents, accept for when they hadn't. Accept for when that awful man had hidden him among the tents, far away from his family, and those that could help him. When he had done unspeakable things to him.

The tents were Dick's life, and his curse.

It was plain to see that there were enough people working on setting up tents, and not enough people unpacking them. Dick supposed they could start by working to unpack the costume tent, especially because Luca hadn't gotten any of his costumes yet. He paused, and Luca almost bumped into him at the sudden stop. "Umm, maybe we should start in their," Dick pointed at the gold tent and Luca nodded.

"What tent is that?" Luca asked.

Dick realized that Luca knew absolutely nothing about the circus. Not to say that he didn't necessarily know how to be perform. It was obvious to Dick from the shape of Luca's muscles that he was good at whatever he did, but he still had never been in the circus before. "That's the gold tent, so it's the costume tent," Dick explained.

"So every tent has a different color?"

"Yeah. The big top is red, the training tent is blue, the, uh, costume tent is gold, the mess tent is green, and the medical tent is black. Oh, and the silver tent attached to the big top is for tickets and concessions. So... yeah."

"Concessions?" Luca asked hesitantly.

Dick had forgotten that Luca was Italian, and didn't quite understand everything about English just yet. "Oh, sorry. Concessions is the place where people buy their food, for the show."

"Cool." Luca looked impressed, but not as impressed as Dick thought he should be.

He lead Luca over to the costume tent. Outside the structure was a jumble of wardrobes, boxes, and mirror stands that would all have to be carried in. Luca walked over to one of the smaller boxes and began to pick it up. "Wait," Dick said. "We have to put the floor in first."

"The floor? Isn't it just dirt?" Luca looked at him puzzled.

"Nope," Dick quickly ducked inside so Luca wouldn't notice him laughing.

←←←←←→→→→→

"Woah. This is kinda tight... " Luca said as he turned around and around looking at himself in his new costume in the mirror. The first of his three costumes was the bright pink, yellow, and orange firebird suit for the youth dance act. Like most of the show's costumes it was skin tight, and this one came complete with bright orange hip-hop shoes and a hood. The zipper in the back was nearly invisible.

"I know, but you'll get used to it. At least you'll be able to move without losing a shoe or something," Dick offered.

"Are they all like this?" Luca turned around again.

"No... not all of them. Some of them are pretty cool. You should see the Flying Graysons' costumes. They're awesome." Dick knew he was bragging, but, for some reason, he wanted to show off in front of Luca. He hadn't seen what the other boy could do yet, but whatever it was it had to be pretty impressive to get him hired into the circus. Dick remembered the night four months ago when Mr. Haley had pulled his parents into his office to watch a home video an orphanage had made of Luca and sent to the circus after seeing it perform in a town in Italy. Haley had wanted them to take Luca in, seeing as he was an orphan, and to be of use to the show he would need adult supervision. Mr. and Mrs. Grayson had agreed, but the news came as a bit of a shock to Malina and Dick.

Haley had chosen the Grayson because they were the only ones in the show that had a boy Luca's age, and had figured that it would be easier for Luca to work if he had someone to relate to. Plus, after everything that had happened to Dick, the adults had agreed that he needed to spend time with kids his own age. They didn't want him to isolate himself - to withdraw. They were trying to make him feel normal. But it hadn't been working. At least, not at first.

Dick felt more different than he had in a long time. He felt excited. He felt like he could breathe again, as if for the past few months he had been holding his breath. But he was too young to understand that it was Luca that was helping him. The other boy had only been there since the previous night, and already he had brought a smile to Dick's face.

Mary Grayson noticed this when she came into the tent to check on the two. The flooring they had put down was foam, soft and sound absorbent, and she snuck up on Dick, poking him on the shoulders. She missed the days when she could sneak up behind him to give a hug, but everytime she had done that since the incident he inadvertently recoiled in fear.

"Hey there kiddo, how's it going?" she asked, keeping her voice chipper, but not too excited.

"Good mom, we're just trying on the costumes," Dick said, smiling up at his mom.

"Ooo, Luca, that costume's perfect. Are you excited for your first show?" Mary placed her hands on Luca's shoulder. Despite the fact that Luca had been so polite and outgoing, as a mother, she could sense that he was more nervous than he let on, and the previous night's events had made him more than a little wary of Dick. She had had to take some time to talk to Luca when they got back from dinner, explaining to the boy that Dick was a good kid, but that he was going through a rough time, and that it wasn't Luca's fault.

"Thanks Mrs. Grayson. I'm excited, but I still don't have a routine... and the show is tomorrow. Will we get to practice today?" Luca asked shyly.

"Don't worry, of course you'll get to practice. You probably haven't looked at your show schedule yet, Dick can show you that," she patted Dick on the shoulder, "And the rest you will learn in rehearsal after lunch. Well, I'm glad to see that you boys are getting along." She looked at her watch. "It's almost time for lunch, so before you eat, Richard, I want you to try your trapeze costume on and see if it needs any tailoring."

She could barely get the words out before Dick yelled, "I'm back on the trapeze? Really! I get to perform tomorrow?"

"Wait, wait. Not quite. You have to train with us for a few weeks before you get back in the air." She looked into Dick's blue eyes and smiled, trying to reassure him, seeing the disappointment on his face. "Don't worry. You'll get there. Now go on." She shoved him in the direction of the wardrobe.

He retrieved his costume from the locker in the wardrobe that he shared with his father. The outfit was made of a light spandex, and easily stretched to conform to the athlete's body. Unlike the firebird costume he and Luca had, the Graysons' costumes were red with white tights  
and gold accents. Unlike most of the other costumes worn in the show, theirs' were sleeveless, with tights that wrapped around the arch of the foot, leaving the soles and heels bare. A pair of wrist wraps were worn to protect the delicate joints from damage, each having to be covered in chalk before every performance.

It fit like a glove. The familiar weight of the fabric enveloped Dick in warmth, and he felt as if he had worn it only yesterday. "See mom, it doesn't need to be fixed. Can I perform tomorrow? Please?" Dick pleaded with his mother.

"I'm sorry sweetie but it's not about the costume. You have to build your muscles back up. Safety first, okay?" Mary tried to make Dick understand.

"Okay, fine. But I'm gonna train with you today," and with that, Dick walked hurried out of the tent, barely stooping to pick up his shoes in his hurry to the mess tent so he wouldn't be late for his job.

←←←←←→→→→→

The music thundered in Dick's ears, vibrating through him, every muscle twitching to the beat. This was the seventh time they had run the hip-hop piece, and beads of sweat rolled down his face. Around him, five other dancers moved in unison, their bright firebird costumes creating the illusion of fire itself.

He could hear it in the music. It was almost time. Just a few more counts...

Dick leaped off his feet, splitting in the air as Luca slid underneath him. Dick had never seen Luca do anything before, but if his dancing was any indication of how talented Luca was, he could give Dick a serious run for his money. The boy was a master of hip-hop, twisting and turning at impossibly sharp angles, pausing and changing direction in perfect time with the music. Not only was he good on his feet, but on his hands - and head for that matter - as well.

But that wasn't enough to be in the circus. It was what Luca did next that made him so incredible. At first Dick had thought he was doing a simple back tuck - a flip that every novice gymnast could master with ease. But Luca had landed in a handstand, and if that wasn't enough, he had began to jump around on his hands, contorting this way and that. The other boy was a natural born hand-balancer.

And then the lights went out, the work lights came on, and the director stepped forward.

"That's great you guys. Yana," Leon Weber - the show's juggler and dance director - scribbled something in his show notes. "You're a little heavy on your feet. I don't want that tomorrow, understood?"

"Yes sir," Yana replied.

"As for the rest of you, Soren you hesitate too long before going into your solo, Tatia I didn't like the way you did your Rebook this time, fix it, and Luca, nice job. That's it," he waved his arms, clipboard in hand, "everybody out."

Dick breathed a sigh of relief, glad not to be yelled at. He walked over to grab his water off the top of the blue ring and took a long drink.

"That was so much fun!" Luca's excited voice sounded from right beside him. "I thought it would be harder than this to catch up with you guys. And we get to do this every day? How cool is that?"

Dick couldn't help but smile. He had grown up in the circus. He probably spent more time in the big top than anywhere else. The thought of not being able to do what he did every day was crazy, and he laughed at the thought of every living without it. He knew then that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, and nothing, could ever take that away from him.

'Yeah, it's pretty cool, I guess. But, we still have to go to school." Dick said. He looked over to see the dismay on Luca's face.

"School? For what?" Luca asked sullenly.

"I don't know, normal kid stuff like reading, and science, and math."

"Why? We're already working."

"Beats me," Dick shrugged. "Come on, we'll be late to class if we don't hurry and that means we'll be late to dinner later."

←←←←←→→→→→

Dick lay in his bed, miserably sore from the day's training. There were sore spots all up his calves, hamstrings, and quads. His back muscles ached, and his arms felt like they might fall off. It was nights like these that he couldn't lay on his side because his arms hurt too much. But he didn't mind the open rips on his palms or dime-a-dozen bruises on his legs. Circus hurt, and the fact that he was hurt meant that he was back to normal.

In the bed across the room, Luca was snoring softly. Dick had been annoyed at first, but the noise reminded him of the snoring sounds his father made, and it comforted him. Luca was fast asleep, exhausted after his first day of circusing. Dick didn't mind him so much anymore. He was okay, despite that he asked so many questions. But he did have fun showing off his acrobat skills in front of Luca, and the awed expression on the boy's face as Dick flipped through the air had made it all worth it.

Luca had told him after that that he wanted to learn to be an acrobat as well, and that he would teach Dick to do handstands if he taught Luca the trapeze. All this had Dick thinking that maybe they could be friends after all. He had never had a real friend his own age, but if this is what friends did, then he was gonna be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry it's been so long. I've had to deal with some personal issues in my life and am just now getting to the place where I feel that can take a project like this on again. As for a schedule I'm not going to stick to one as I don't like making promises that I can't keep. Just know that this story has been bouncing around in my head for a while so expect updates.


	2. Chapter 2

June 8, 2002,

Dick woke up to the familiar sound of the train’s whistle. Rolling over he flipped on the light switch across from his pillow and light flooded the room. He sighed, this train, or rather this storage compartment converted into a bath and bedroom did not have windows. None of them did. But he spent enough time away from his room not to care whether or not he had a view. 

He rolled over, saw Luca’s ratty and stained suitcase on the floor, and remembered the events of the previous evening. Scribbled across the top of the suitcase in what appeared to be black marker was the name, Luca Moretti. And suddenly, Dick remembered that he wasn’t alone. On the other side of the much-too-small room he could see Luca stirring, one foot already swung over the edge of his bed. Dick was too ashamed to make conversation. Lightning fast he pulled open the cubby-drawer from beneath his own bed, took out a wad of clothes, and dashed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. He hadn’t meant to slam the door, but he was in such a rush to avoid any interaction with Luca that it had happened on accident. Great. Now he would probably assume that Dick was mad at him- which was wrong.

No, Dick was flustered by the previous night’s outburst, and wary of any and all questions that might follow. He knew that, inevitably, he would have to tell Luca that, well, his ‘outbursts’ were a common occurrence. Which would mean that he would have to relate why he was mentally- as his therapist put it- ‘unstable’. 

Done dressing, he exited the bathroom, quickly muttering instructions to, “Get dressed and start working,” in Luca’s general direction. With a tug he pulled back the compartment’s sliding door hatch, pulled at a lever on the outside wall, and stepped onto the stairs that unfolded from beneath the doorway. Each car was outfitted with a mechanism such as this, ensuring that Mr. Haley’s valuable performers wouldn’t have to jump from the cars, potentially damaging their valuable joints and tendons.

Unfortunately, the morning was cloudy, and a light mist permeated the circus grounds. The frozen, thick air hit him like an impenetrable wall. He felt as though he had to physically push through it in order to keep moving forward. Shivering, he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, tying the drawstrings firmly around his face into a sloppy bow.

It was early, the sun having yet to break over the horizon, yet still providing enough light in it’s predawn state to see by. Looking around, he saw some people already out of their cars, eager to start work. The cars containing the tent canvas and staves were the first that needed to be unloaded. Particularly the one containing the mess tent. Dick’s stomach growled in unity with his thoughts. Yes, the sooner they got that tent up the sooner everyone could eat breakfast.

“Morning Richard!” Dick recognized the sleepy voice of his mother calling from the doorway of his parent’s train car. Only his mother called him Richard. He smiled lovingly at her, jogging over to give her a hug. “You’re up early. Feeling any better?” He nodded. “Glad to hear it. Where’s Luca?” She glanced around, still holding him tight in a hug.

“Oh, um…,” Dick hesitated, “I think he’s still getting ready.” Sensing his mother was about to scold him for leaving the newbie behind, he added, “But he should be out any second. I told him that we had to start work soon.”

“Well I’m glad you made your peace with him. The two of you will get along just fine. I promise.” Pacified, she released him. “You’ll have to. Your first show together is tomorrow and you need to come up with a routine.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Where’s dad?”

“I think he’s...,” she paused looking around, “a-ha! Over there sorting out those tent poles.” She pointed, shoving Dick on his way.

“I’ll see you at breakfast mom!” He ran to meet his dad.

“Okay sweetie! Be careful!” She called after him.

←←←←←→→→→→

The tent was easy enough to erect, providing that there was adequate man power. The poles were placed at a certain distance from each other. Then, shallow holes were dug for each pole using agurs and two-handled shovels. Next, iron spikes were pounded through the bracket holes at the bottom of the poles, and they were weighted down with sandbags. Finally yhe canvas was then hooked onto both a central mast and each of the surrounding outer poles. Using a pulley-system the canvas was then raised to the top of the central mast. 

Dick had always enjoyed raising tents. Although, when he had been younger the work had been deemed too dangerous and he had had to sit and watch the whole process from the side lines. Most importantly though, the work provided him with something to do- something to occupy his mind since he was not able to preform any trapeze work. It was a mindless task - one that he had done many times before. 

But it was his second job that Dick found most enjoyable. He had found a passion in cooking, despite the fact that as a nine year old he wasn't particularly skilled at it. But the head cheff had understood as much, and had agreed to teach Dick at the request of both Dick's parents and therapist - who just so happened to be the wife of the chef. Besides the run crew, everyone in the cast had a job outside of performing anyway. Some served in the kitchen, some in costume repair, and some in show management- such as ticket sales and concessions. Everyone helped with setup and teardown.

An hour later he found himself standing in the newly put-together kitchen, helping prepare breakfast. Again, Dick’s stomach growled loudly. This morning’s meal consisted of pancakes with both dairy free and gluten free options, eggs- scrambled and fried-, bacon or sausage, and a variety of fresh fruit. Coffee was a must have, although Dick wasn’t as interested in the beverage at his age and opted for lemon tea with honey - a drink idea he had stolen from the show's contortionists.

When he was done serving he sat down to eat with his family. Malina had brought her roommate Yana, and they were chattering away about a horror movie they had watched the previous night. Dick had to admit that it was frustrating Malina was only three years older than him, but he was not allowed to watch the movies her and her friends watched. He across the round folding table to his mother, who was absentmindedly stabbing at her fruit bowl while reading ‘The Lovely Bones’ by Alice Sebold. 

“So, have you you got any big plans for the day?” his father questioned, a note of over exaggeration in his voice. His father was trying to be funny, as there wasn’t much free time in the circus. 

“I think maybe I’ll read that ghost book you got me for Christmas,” and then added, “After I finish my homework of course.”

“Or before,” his father smiled wickedly. “What?” He winked at Dick’s blank face. “You forget I was a boy too. And if I remember correctly, homework isn’t particularly that interesting.”

“Well not all of it is. But I like reading, and writing is okay too… sometimes. Oh! And science is fun. We are studying geology now.”

“I knew it.” His dad said, shaking his head in disappointment.

“What? Knew what?” Dick was afraid that he had done something bad.

“That I was raising a nerd,” John reached across the table to poke Dick between the eyes.

Somewhat offended, Dick replied, “I’m not a nerd! You have to be good at math to be a nerd!”

“On second thought, you should do your math homework first.”

“Fine, but don’t tell mom if I don’t do the rest of it.”

“Too late. ‘Mom’ already knows,” chirped Mary. John and Dick both turned to look at her, laughing a their mistake. “What?” She looked up from her book. “You guys are sitting two feet away from me and you expect me not to hear?”

They’re conversation continued throughout breakfast. Dick enjoyed constantly being with his family. He liked the light banter that existed in their conversation. It was light, so care-free. He hated seriousness, as all nine-year old boys do. There had been too much seriousness in his life as of late.

Surprisingly but not unwelcome- strictly on Dick’s part- Luca never came to breakfast. Or at least, he hadn't noticed if he had. When Mrs. Grayson went to check on him, he was not in the train car. Alarmed, she instructed Dick to look for him once he had finished his breakfast. Dick took his time.

**Author's Note:**

> All critics are welcome as long as they are constructive XD


End file.
